National Catholic Register: Dominicans Ordain Largest Number of Friars in 45 Years

The 2016 Ordination class for the Dominican Province of St. JosephPhoto: Jaclyn Lippelman

Dominicans Ordain Largest Number of Friars in 45 Years
By: Charlotte Hays

WASHINGTON — “Our Lord commanded us to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest, and we have done so — and these are his answer to our prayer,” Archbishop Augustine Di Noia said Saturday, as he prepared to serve as ordaining prelate for the largest class of Dominican friars ordained for the eastern Province of St. Joseph in 45 years.

This year marks the 800th jubilee for the Order of Preachers, and Archbishop Di Noia, ordained a Dominican priest in 1970, emphasized that this class was “blessed to be the 800th-anniversary ordination class” of the province. The 11 new priests, mostly men in their 20s, were ordained at a May 21 Mass that filled to capacity the Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is across the street from the Dominican House of Studies and seats 6,000 people.